Police Hunt for Man Who Pepper Sprayed Teen at Wisconsin Trump Rally

JANESVILLE, WI — A 15-year-old Wisconsin girl was pepper sprayed Tuesday after she punched a man who she said groped her during a Janesville rally for Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump.

Investigators are using photos and video from the rally to try to identify the man who sprayed the teen, the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reports. The altercation came as Trump protesters and supporters clashed outside the Holiday Inn Express and Janesville Convention Center where the candidate's rally was being held.

Janesville police released photos Wednesday of the man suspected of pepper spraying the girl, the Wisconsin State Journal reports. He was wearing glasses and a red baseball cap with Trump's "MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN" slogan on it.

The 15-year-old and a 19-year-old Madison woman who was near her were treated at a local hospital and released, according to the Journal Sentinel. Janesville police told the newspaper the 15-year-old could face charges for throwing a punch at the man who she told police touched her.

A YouTube video of the confrontation shows the girl accusing a man in the crowd of touching her breast, a claim the man then denies. As the argument escalates, the girl punches the man, and another man then sprays her with pepper spray.

A man who claimed he was punched by the girl—Dan Crandall, of Milton, Wis.—told the Wisconsin State Journal that he did not touch the teen.

About 1,000 people attended the rally inside the convention center, and another 1,000 Trump opponents and backers lingered outside Tuesday. On Monday, six protesters were arrested when they refused to leave the hotel's lobby, the Janesville Gazette reports.

PHOTO: Screen shot from YouTube video (Samantha Petty)